Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
8340
The invention relates to continuously variable trans-
mission mechanisnJs which are of the kind comprising a
variator with input and output sheaves of variable diameters
and a flexible band connecting the sheaves together, an
epicyclic ge~rset incorporated in the mechanism, and clutches
and/or brakes arranged for selectively coupling together or
selectively holding stationary variou.s parts of the mechanis~
to provide forward and reverse transmission ranges within
which ~he over-all transmission ratio can be varied by the
variator.
Transmission mechanisms of this kind are known, for
example from U.K. Patent Specification 1,128,694. Parti-
cularly when such a transmission mechanism is to be used in a
commercial vehicle, it is desirable to provide a wide spread
of gear ratios between the lowest (highest reduction) ratio
and the highest ratio of the transmission. In contrast to
this, in the intere3bs of high efficiency ~nd low stress~s on
the variator, it is desirable to limit tne range of variator
transmi~sion ratios to a much 'ower ran~c than is required by
~U the vehicle. The provision of an epicyclic gearset such as
is provided in the known tran~mission mechanism, can be used
to enable the transmission mechanism to operate in various
modes, thus exter.ding the range o~ ratios of the overa]l
transmission beyond that of the variator itself to provide a
suitable range of overall transmission ratios. It is also
~p
1~3"834(~
desir~hle in the inter,ests of` efficiency that the variator
should not have to operate for long periods of time with a
high step-up or reduction ratio, particularly when a large
amount of power is being transmitted. The known transmission
5 referred to above circulates power within the transmission
resulting in a large power transmission through the variator.
Also, if used in a road vehicle, the known transmission
mechanism would operate with a high step-up sheave ratio and
a large power throughput when the vehicle travels at high
10 speed.
The invention is concerned with the provision of a high
efficiency transmission which can operate with a wider range
of ratios than the ratio of the variator.
According to the invention a continuously variable tran-
15 smission mechanism of the kind comprising a variator havinginput and output sheaves of varia~le diameters and a flexible
band connecting the sheaves together, an epicyclic ge~rset
incorporated in the mechanism and clu~c~es and~or brak~s
arranged fcn Sf lectively couplin~ together or selectively
20 holding statirJnary various parts of the mechanism to provide
forward and reverse transmission ranges is characterised by a
corlfiguration of the transmission 3uch that the variator
input sheave at the input to the transrnissiorl is co-axial
with the transmission output shaft and can be clutche~ to
this output shaft, that the epicyclic gearset is driven by
the variator outDut .sh~?~ve. the l?utD1i ~rr"~) t~ r,i ~y~
r~r f ~ ? .~ .i S r ~ ,r n e r7 ~ e d ~ r~ t h e tr~rs~ si?, r~ , p u s a f t ~h~r--~,
a reduction d~ive and clutehes and/or brakes control t;he
epicyclic gearset t~ selective'y provide a reduction for~7~rd
drive, a dire~t drive with the gearset lGc~.ed up or ~ reverse
drive. With this Mechanism, when the input sh~ave is
c3utched -o thQ out~ut sh~ft~ a di~ect ~7rivt is ^stabli ~ed
with no power tr~sr7lissiGll ~nrough t.h~? v~riat~r. This
enables hi~h eff;cienfy to ~e .1chie~ed d~ rl- irp con-
~~ 35 ditions. i1hen the v~-~iatsr 7.S in use i~-l eSt~ .iSt'li~J~ ~'. dri~e
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from th~ variator output sheave through the epicyclic
gearset, a high range of ratios is
available wllen the gearset is locked up and a low range of
ratios is available when the gearset is providing a reduction
forward drive. The existence of these two ranges provides a
wid~ overall transmission ratio range without having to
employ extr~rncs of variator ratio. The variator can be used
between a maximum step-up ratio and a corresponding reduction
ratio to improve the spread of available ratios.
Prefera~'y the epicyclic gearset is co-axial ~ith the
output sheave. The overall shape and size of the trans-
mission then corresponds generally to a conventional lay-
shaft transmission with the co-axial input and output shafts
as in a lay-shaft transmission and with the epicyclic gearset
15 and the variator output sheave corresponding to the position
of the cluster of lay-shaft gear~. Such an ..rrangement
enables the transmission to be installed in a conventional
vchicle in place of a conventional laJ~shaft transmission.
Preferably the reduction drive from the epicyclic
20 gearset to the output shaft has a reducti~n ratio which i~
the inverse of the maximum usable variator step-up ratio. By
this means, the hi~hest overall ratio ~vailable through tne
variator corresponds to the direct drlve ratio so that a
syrlchronous change can be established bet~een the dri~e
throu~h the variator and the direct drive from the variator
i r!~ult sh~VC to Sh~ oilt~ut.
Preferably the transmission is pr~vlded with a fluid
cOupliïlg on the input side of the varia or input sheave.
Ti-is o~ri~t~s thr reauiremrrit for a ranually operable
~0 friction clutc~ and also facilitates a s~ooth change rom one
mGde of oDer~t on of the ~ra~smis Sisn tio another without
J ~ r k ~ n ~ i t ll C ~ o v e r l ~ d i ~ c~ u t ~ 3 K e S .
Thc epic,yclic ge~rset r,3sy be ~ n tr" f'or~ ,î ,i simp~:
10~83~)
gearset with sun gear, planet gears on a planet carrier and
an annulus, with the output sheave driving the sun gear; the
planet carrier can be clutched to the output of the epicyclic
gearset and the annulus braked to rest to provide a reduction
5 drive; the carrier can be braked to rest and the annulus
clutched to the output of the gearset to provide reverse and
the carrier and annulus can be clutched to the output of the
epicyclic gearset to lock up the gearset and provide direct
drive through the gearset. In this way a simple gearset
~0 provides all the required functions.
Alternatively, the epicyclic gearset may have two sun
gears coupled together, each with its own planet carrier,
planets and annulus with the first annulus permanently con-
nected to the second carrier and forming the output of the
15 epicyclic gearset; the second annulus is then clutched to the
variator output sheave and the first carrier is braked to
re~t to ~rovide a reduction drive; the two sun gear~ are
olutched to the variator output and the first carrier is
braked to prcJide reverse drive and th~ sun gca. and seconA
20 ~nnulus are clutched to the variator output to lock l?p the
transmission and provide direct ~rive. This arrangement
provides the required ratios with ~nly two clutches and one
brake.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by
25 way of example only with reference to the accompanying diag-
rammatic dra~in~s in which:
Figure 1 is a d~agrammatic repre~2ntation of a first
em~odiment; and
~ igure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of th~ second
emhodimcnt.
A ~ariaton 10 of the transrrlis~i~n mrechani.c;lr, shown i~
-~ Figure 1 ha; .In inp~t srleave 11, and outpu-" sheave R and a
.
10"8340
f'lexlble drive ~and 13 interconnecting the two sheaves. The
drive band is frictionally engaged with the conventional
conical sheave surfaces and provides a driving connection
between the two sheaves. The band may be in the form of a
5 belt or of a chain with transverse pins for frictional
engagement with the sheaves. The effective diameters of the
sheaves are variable in a conYentior~al way to vary the dri~e
ratio of the variator. The input sheave 11 is mounted on and
driven by an input.shaft 14 and the output sheave 12 is
10 mounted on and drives a variator output shaf~ 15.
An output shaft 16 of the transmi~sion mechanism as a
whole is co-axiai with the input shaft 14 and can be select-
ively connected to the input shaft 14 by means of a direct
drive clutch 17.
An epicyclic gearset 31 is arranged to be cc-axial ~ith
the variator output sheave 12 and has its sun gear 18
permanently connect,ed to and driven by the variator ~u~v~ut
sha~t 15. The epicyclic gear.,et a'so in~orp~rate~ a ~127~ct
carrier 1~ c~rrying the usual planet ~ears which mesh with
20 the sun ~ear 18 and an annulus gear 20 which also meshes with
the planet ~ears. Further details of the epicyclic gearset
and it.s operation ~ill be described subsequently.
An output shaft 21 from the e~ieyclic gearset 31 c~rries
a gear 22 which meshes with an idler gear 23 7r7hich in tur
m~he.s with ~ ~ear 24 on the output shft 15. Th~ ~ar~ 22,
2~, '4 is ~ ~e~cti~;n ~earir;~ tv~:r the ~ y~ljc ,~a!.C,~+.
output shaft 71 and the output shaft 16. The reductîon ratio
of this gearin~ is the scS~71le as the highest usabie s~vep-l2p
ratio of tne var-ator 1~ fcr reasons whicn wi~l be descriced
30 subsequerlivl~
Returnl?.J,~ to ~,ne cpi CyC!i C ~7e.~,rs~,7; ~ c~ f ir~iv L~rc-lY~ 25
is o7~,~rab' ~- 1,(; b, ~ '~,he ,~lcinet c~rri~ i t(j S;he t7"~.".S'-
mlssion cas in~C7 ,~6. h secon.~ br ~ 27 j s o~jer;lljle t-j brâ~:
1098340
the annulu.s 20 ~o the casing 26. A clutch 28 is operable to
clutch the planet carrier 19 to shaft 21 and a clutch 29 is
operable to clutch the annulus 20 to the shaft 21.
The input shaft 14 is driven from, for example, a prime
5 mover output shaft 30 through a ~luid coupling 31.
The transmission mechanism shown in Figure 1 can be
operated in a variety of different modes which will now be
described. Firstly, the mode of operation which gives the
highest reduction ratio of the transmission mechanism a~ a
10 whole is achieved when the clutch 17 is disengaged, brake 27
is operated to hold the annulus 20 stationary and the planet
carrier 19 is clutched to the shaft 21. In this mode, the
variator drives the shaft 15 which in turn drives sun gear 18
so that shaft 21 is driven at the planetary reduction ratio
15 and drlves the output shaft 16 through the reduction gealing
~2, 23, 24. The reduction ratio achieved is the product of
the epicyclic reduction ratio and the variator ratio. This
c~n vary f~o~ a very large reduction when thc variator is set
to its m~imum redu^tion ratio to a much lower redllction when
20 the variator is set to its maximum ~tep-up ratio.
A second mode of operation is obtained by leaving clutch
17 disengaged, clutching planet carrier 19 to the shaft 21 by
clutch 28 and also clutching annulus 20 to the shaft ~1 by
clutch 29. Brakes 25 and 26 remain released. In this
2~ .si tu~ticn. the Dlanetarv ~car3et is l^cked up and provides
-~-re~S; ~ r: t;~ ~ mod~ r~ v~ dl~
ratio of the transmission mechanism is the prcduct of the
varia~or ratio and the reduction gearing 22, 23, 24. The
ratios are selected so that thc ma~.imum reduc~ion rati(J
available in this second mode of operatlon correspond3 gener-
ally to the sma]1est re~uction ratio (highest ratio) in t~e
modr o~ or,e~atlon. A s~aii ov--ri~ i l'dtiVS ii~c'i;' ~
~esirab:,e. In this way, a continuous rarigc of ~atios is
avail~r~le.
lQ~83~0
In the second moqe of operation, when the variator is
set to its maximum step-up ratio, the overall transmission
ratio is 1:1 because the maximum step-up variator ratio is
equal to the reduction drive ratio of the gearing 22, 23, 24.
In this situation, a synchronous change can be made to a
direct drive through the clutch 17 by engaging the clutch 17
and simultaneously releasing clutches 28 c~nd 29. This
results in the third mode of operation and this mode of
operation is particularly efficient because it does not
involve the transmission of power through the variator or the
f?,p.i(~yCl ic ge~arset .
To obtain reverse drive, the planet carrier 19 is held
stationary by means of the brake 25 while the annulus 20 is
clutched to the shaft 21 by means of clutch 29. The direct
~rive clutch 17 is of course disengaged.
While changing between the first and se~ond rnodes Or
operation ~hi~e the vehicle is in operat;on it is necessary
for the tran~rnjssion to remain in neutral while the v,ria'o.
ratio changes from one extreme to c-~not~er. For this reason
it is not possible to transmit drive continuously while this
chan~e is taking place. In contrdst, power can be trans-
mitted continuously during a change between the second mode
and the third mode of operation.
In a typical example, the ran~e of ratios ~vailable in
.h~ ~ri,~ r -~il1 bf- ~ro~, a 2:1 r~du^tion to a 2~1 ct~
r-~t~ . r~ , of '~ ,t Irl~ r~ )rl r~a'~,ic~
the ge~aring 22, 23, 24 should also ~2 2:1. A suitabl~
reduction ratio in tile planetary C~earset s 2.5:1, With s~Jch
al1 arrange~er.t the maximum reduct on rat,io of rhe trans-
mission aS a wh~ole woul~d ~e (2 x 2.5 x 2):1 = 10.1. Thehi~heS~t avai'a~le ra'cio i, of eourse 1:1 givin.~, a spre,-td of~
rat~os b~.~t~ rJ th~- ~r,~ fi r''~ .7~ C~r trCJ~ I(J I r,o l:~~
I~it~ ~,uf~h ,~ ~r~rclr~ge;~c~ f~, r g~ , rc-~tio ~ c~ e 7-.
10"~34~)
the first mGde of opcrafion would be (0.5 x 2.5 x 2):1 = 2.5:1
reduction. To achieve a reduction of 2.5:1 in the second
mode of operation, it is necessary for the variator ratio to
be changed from 0.5:1 to 1.25:1 so that the overall ratio
5 becomes (1.25 x 1 x 2):1 = 2.5:1 reduction. As the maximum
reduction ratio of the variator is 2:1 and not 1.25:1 there
is some ovenlap between the ratios available in the first and
second modes of operation and with a suitable control system
this can be used to prevent hunting between the two modes of
10 operation when the required ratio varies slightly either side
of 2.5:1. ,
The arrangement shown in Figure 2 corresponds to that of
Figure 1 with the exception of the provision of a different
type of epicyclic gearset. For thi~ reason the description
15 Of Figure 2 will be restricted to the parts thereof which
~iffer from Figure 1. A cornpound epicyclic ~earset 41
incorporates a first sun gear 42 with corresponding planet
carrier 43, planet gears 44 and annulus 45 and also incorpor-
ates a second s~n gear 46 with corresponding planet carrier
20 47, planet gears 4Qv and annulus 49. Annulus 45 and planet
carrler 47 are permanent,ly connected to each other and to ar
ollt~ut sha~t 51 of th~ p~net~ry ~arset,. The t,wo sun ~e~3r,s
42 and 46 are permanently connected tovether and are also
connectable by means of a clutch 52 to a slveve 53 which
25 forms the output from the output sneave 54 of the vari~tor.
A second clutch 55 can connect annulus ~l9 to the variator
~llt~ t Q~!~ '`!~', ,a br~ rr~ 5~ i Q nr~ 7 ~ r~r f~ t i ~Ia- ~J h~
~hc pl~..ct c~rricr 'l3 ~tativn~rJ. Thc vper-3ti3~, ~r ~ ~ i
corrlpound plarletary ~earset to achieve tne first and secGnd
30 modes of operation a~nd reverse dr ve is siri~plified in that
~nl~J r~A?~ tc~ , ?n~ ~ne br~ ?r~ !'f~ i r~(~ ?.~ o!)p~.S~ t,(~
the requirement for two clutches and twn brakes in the
arr~ ement o~ 3re 1
To achie~e a redllctiorl drire throurh the ~picycli~
35 ge~rset 41 1OL the first r~ode of o~erdtl3n~ cl~tc~ 55 ~,ard
10"8340
brake 56 are engaged. In the second mode of operation,
clutches ~2 and 55 are'engaged to lock up the gearset while
brake 56 is released. To achieve reverse drive, clutch 52
and brake 56 are engaged. The epicyclic gearset shown in
5 Figure 2 is of a well known type known as the Simpson type so
further description of its operation is not considered nec- r
essary.
"
The overall operation of the transmission of Figure 2
corresponds to that of Figure 1, the numbers of teeth in the
10 epicyclic gearset being selected to provide the same overall
ratios as in the Figure 1 embodiment.
~'
